The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

Danish director Refn splatters Cannes festival with violence

Thu, 23 May 2013 02:39:29 GMT

CANNES, May 23 — An ultra-violent thriller set in the Bangkok underworld of brothels and fight clubs came under attack at the Cannes film festival yesterday for its bloodletting that Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn defended as art. “Only God Forgives” by Refn, who won the best director award at Cannes two years ago, is the story of Julian, an ...

A Minute With: Pitbull on music, Jennifer Lopez and ‘Epic’

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:15:30 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 22 — Rapper Pitbull has taken his blend of American pop music fused with Latin beats from the clubs of Miami to international pop charts, but he now is crossing into film with his first acting role as an animated character in the upcoming movie, "Epic." Pitbull, whose real name is Armando Perez, has become a staple in the pop ...

La Dolce Vita plays out with Italian films at Cannes

Wed, 22 May 2013 02:45:39 GMT

CANNES, May 22 — Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Great Beauty”, a nostalgic, melancholic ode to the eternal city Rome, is one of several films that touch on the unravelling of contemporary Italy in official selection at the Cannes film festival this year. Also competing for the prestigious Palme d’Or award to be handed out on Sunday is “Un Chateau en ...

Citing fatigue, director Ang Lee leaves pilot of TV series ‘Tyrant’

Wed, 22 May 2013 02:25:38 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 22 — Oscar winner Ang Lee cancelled his plans to direct the pilot of new US television series “Tyrant”, saying yesterday that he needed to rest after spending four years working on 3D fantasy-adventure film “Life of Pi”. Lee, 58, signed on to direct the pilot of the drama series for cable network FX in March, shortly after winning ...

Singer George Michael under observation for head injuries

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:22:40 GMT

LONDON, May 21 — British singer George Michael remains in hospital under observation for head injuries, five days after a car accident, his publicist said on Tuesday. "I can confirm that George remains in hospital but purely as a standard precaution for observation because he suffered some bumps and cuts to his head. But he's making good progress, ...

Please try to understand

Tue, 21 May 2013 02:53:35 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, May 21 — “You takkan faham. You bukan saya!” — Parah And isn’t this true of all arguments, that they start because we don’t understand them, because they don’t understand us. You would never understand, because you’re not me, you’re not my kind. We think we do, sometimes, that we understand each other, and that we can see and feel ...

Keyboardist Ray Manzarek of The Doors dies age 74

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:31:13 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 21 — Ray Manzarek, founding member and keyboardist of 1960s rock group The Doors, died yesterday at a medical clinic in Germany at age 74 following a battle with cancer, the group’s manager Tom Vitorino said. Manzarek, who lived in Northern California’s Napa Valley wine country for the past decade, had been seeking treatment in ...

Week two of Cannes film festival gets off to explosive start

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:19:40 GMT

CANNES, May 20 — Japanese director Takashi Miike got the final week of the Cannes film festival off to an explosive start today, with big budget cop thriller “Shield of Straw” a sharp contrast to the more intense, intimate movies screened so far. Typically for Cannes, where critical passions run high, both exuberant cheers and boos rang out after ...

Billboard Music Awards: Taylor Swift dominates

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:03:34 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 20 — On Sunday, May 19, the annual Billboard Music Awards took place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The awards honour creativity and achievement in the music industry. This year’s event saw Taylor Swift pick up eight awards and Rihanna dominate R&B; a list of some of the night’s big winners can be found below. One of the night’s ...

US fall TV pickups packed with more laughs and miniseries

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:57:51 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 20 — The five leading US networks are taking a new tack for the upcoming 2013/2014 season. After a fairly lacklustre year, CBS, Fox, ABC, NBC and CW have decided to keep only 10 of their new series going and, for the rest, to bank on comedies and short-run drama series. Of the 52 series picked up to enhance the fall lineups, 22 ...

Rod Stewart tops UK album chart for first time in 34 years

Mon, 20 May 2013 06:57:28 GMT

LONDON, May 20 — Veteran rocker Rod Stewart scored his first British album chart number one in more than 30 years yesterday with “Time”, while the French electro outfit Daft Punk clung to the top of the singles chart, the Official Charts Company said. Stewart, sporting his trademark spiky blonde hairdo, told Reuters that the process of putting ...

‘Star Trek’ sequel tops weekend box office in North America

Mon, 20 May 2013 02:26:45 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 20 — “Star Trek Into Darkness”, the newest instalment in the classic intergalactic franchise, blasted to the top of movie box office charts with US$70.6 million (RM212.4 million) in weekend ticket sales at cinemas in the United States and Canada. The new 3D voyage for Captain Kirk and the crew of the Starship Enterprise knocked ...

Cannes – where celebrity sells and celebrities sell

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:40:53 GMT

CANNES, May 20 — Film stars come to Cannes to promote themselves and their projects — so where better to launch a wry documentary bemoaning the seeming dominance of celebrity pulling power over content? With parties, pitching and paparazzi in overdrive at the world’s premier movie market, director James Toback yesterday showed “Seduced and ...

Indian cinema on Cannes mission to dispel Bollywood image

Sun, 19 May 2013 10:46:59 GMT

CANNES, May 19 — Indian movie actors and a new wave of directors are on a mission at the Cannes film festival — to show that their industry, which turns 100 this year, is more than just Bollywood. The largest Indian contingent to date is on the French Riviera at the world’s leading cinema showcase to promote their country, which has the world’s ...

Beatles’ guitar auctioned to the tune of RM1.2m

Sun, 19 May 2013 03:16:43 GMT

NEW YORK, May 19 — A custom-made electric guitar played by the late John Lennon and George Harrison of the Beatles sold at a New York auction yesterday for US$408,000 (RM1.2 million), said officials with the company behind the event. The semi-hollow-body guitar, manufactured by the VOX company, was sold to an unidentified US buyer at the “Music ...

Iranian director’s taut family saga rivets critics at Cannes

Sun, 19 May 2013 02:03:29 GMT

CANNES, May 19 — Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi premiered his latest tightly wound family drama at Cannes on Friday, confirming critics’ advance buzz it would prove a contender for the film festival’s top prize. The prestigious festival on the French Riviera - where the sun finally emerged on day three - is looking to spot its ...

Jackie Chan wants to be serious, but will never quit action films

Sun, 19 May 2013 01:31:58 GMT

CANNES, May 19 — After countless broken bones and smashed teeth, Jackie Chan has given up doing his own stunts and wants more serious roles but the Kung Fu actor says he will never stop being an action star despite earlier plans to quit big action movies. At the Cannes film festival to promote his upcoming film “Skiptrace”, the Hong Kong actor ...

Agonising family choice in Japanese film at Cannes festival

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:23:20 GMT

CANNES, May 19 — A film about baby-switching by Japan’s Kore-eda Hirokazu that ponders nature versus nurture premiered at the Cannes film festival yesterday, joining an Iranian challenger as contenders for the top prize. “Soshite Chichi Ni Naru” (“Like Father, Like Son”) is one of two Japanese films out of the international roster of 20 vying to ...

Native American actress proud to walk Cannes red carpet

Sat, 18 May 2013 23:59:51 GMT

CANNES, May 19 — Native American actress Misty Upham never dreamt she would be walking the red carpet at Cannes to showcase a film shot on her reservation. Upham features in “Jimmy P. Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian”, focused on the relationship between World War Two veteran Jimmy Picard, a Native American Blackfoot, and Georges Devereux, his ...

Denmark’s Emmelie de Forest wins Eurovision Song Contest

Sat, 18 May 2013 23:02:59 GMT

MALMO (Sweden), May 19 — Denmark’s Emmelie de Forest won Eurovision today before an international TV audience of around 125 million, clinching the coveted crown of euro-pop with a folksy ballad backed by a wall of fire, flutes and drums. The barefoot 20-year-old blonde stole the show as predicted by bookmakers with “Only Teardrops” in a final that ...

For Sweden’s gay Eurovision fans, it’s about the music

Sat, 18 May 2013 09:35:44 GMT

MALMOE, May 18 — When Finnish singer Krista Siegfrids ended her Eurovision Song Contest rehearsal performance last week by kissing one of her female dancers, few members of the audience raised an eyebrow. Eurovision has been a staple of gay culture for decades in western Europe, where gay bars and nightclubs traditionally screen the event and drag ...

Bruce Willis plays poisoned hit man in extremis in the thriller ‘Expiration’

Sat, 18 May 2013 03:20:51 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 18 — The German-born American actor is adding to his prolific filmography yet another action-packed picture, “Expiration,” a project developed by Emmett/Furla Films and announced at the 66th Cannes Film Festival’s Marché du Film. This feature film has Bruce Willis (picture) playing a poisoned hit man desperately seeking an ...

O.J. Simpson’ ex-lawyer says ‘poured his soul’ into Nevada trial

Sat, 18 May 2013 02:14:17 GMT

LAS VEGAS, May 18 — An attorney who O.J. Simpson claims botched his Nevada robbery trial five years ago told a court last night that he poured his “blood, sweat and soul” into defending the former football hero, who he said had been badly tainted by his sensational 1990s murder case. Yale Galanter, who took the witness stand in a week-long ...

‘The Office’ finale draws season high of 5.6 million viewers

Sat, 18 May 2013 01:58:31 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 18 — The finale of NBC’s “The Office” drew a season high of 5.7 million viewers, as fans tuned in to see the show’s biggest star Steve Carell return for a wedding and nostalgic farewell. The 75-minute finale episode, which aired from 9 p.m. to 10:15 p.m EDT after an hour-long retrospective featuring cast members and producers, ...

Eurovision returns to ABBA’s homeland with pop and kitsch

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:34:57 GMT

STOCKHOLM, May 17 — Bare-chested Irish drummers, a Ukrainian giant and a much-discussed lesbian kiss will be on display at this Saturday’s Eurovision final in Sweden which — love it or hate it — promises plenty of pop, kitsch and barefoot ballads. Some 26 countries will compete for the jewel in the crown of European pop in the homeland of former ...

Steve Carell helps ‘The Office’ close its doors in moving finale

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:06:59 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 17 — The doors of Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch closed for the last time yesterday as NBC’s “The Office” wrapped up after a nine-season run with a nostalgic finale featuring a long-awaited wedding and the return of the show’s biggest star, Steve Carell. Emmy-winning mockumentary “The Office,” adapted from Ricky Gervais’ British ...

Singer Kat Edmonson gets creative with financing her music

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:59:23 GMT

LONDON, May 17 — If Kat Edmonson ever becomes a household name, she can put it down not just to her talent as a jazz singer, but to some decidedly modern financing as well. The 29-year-old Texan, an old-school chanteuse with a contemporary lilt, has funded production of her second album via a community workshop and through crowd-sourcing, ...

China’s Ai Weiwei takes inspiration from milk scandal

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:24:04 GMT

BEIJING, May 17 — Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has taken inspiration from fears in China about milk safety for his latest work of art, a huge map of China made out of milk powder tins appearing at an exhibition in Hong Kong which opens today. Ai, whose 81-day detention in 2011 sparked an international outcry, has regularly criticised the ...

Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt back in jail

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:33:49 GMT

MUMBAI, May 17 — Actor Sanjay Dutt, one of Bollywood’s biggest stars, has returned to prison to serve the remainder of a five-year sentence for firearms offences during the Mumbai bombings 20 years ago, forcing at least one film onto the back burner. Dutt, popular for his role as a do-good gangster in the “Munnabhai” films, was sentenced to six ...

New accuser says Michael Jackson trained him to lie about abuse

Fri, 17 May 2013 04:33:41 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 17 — A close friend of Michael Jackson who had testified in defence of the late pop king at his child sex abuse trial said yesterday that the singer had intimidated and brainwashed him into lying about years of sexual activity with him. “It was complete manipulation (by Jackson) and brainwashing,” choreographer Wade Robson told ...

Soul singer Candice Glover Wins ‘American Idol’

Fri, 17 May 2013 02:46:02 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 17 — Candice Glover, a soul singer from rural South Carolina, was named “American Idol” yesterday and become the first female singer to win the television singing competition since 2007. Glover, 23, defeated country singer Kree Harrison in the popular vote with her powerful voice in what judges deemed a close contest to take the ...

Sweden scales down Eurovision, keeps glitz factor high

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:03:22 GMT

MALMO, May 16 — Bonnie Tyler via a Ukrainian giant to a barefoot Dane, this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, hosted by Sweden, promises to deliver the type of glitzy spectacle that unites Europe like nothing else, short of the love of football. Sweden will pay less than one 50th the astronomical cost spent by last year’s host Azerbaijan, but even ...

Robert Rodriguez adapts ‘From Dusk Till Dawn’ for the small screen

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:52:08 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 16 — Robert Rodriguez is working on a TV version of “From Dusk Till Dawn” for El Rey, an English-language network targeting Latino viewers, which the Mexican-American director plans to start up in December 2013 in the US. Helmed by Rodriguez, the adaptation of the utterly off-the-wall 1996 crime/gory horror flick will take up the ...

Cannes 2013: schedule of major VIP events

Thu, 16 May 2013 05:46:57 GMT

CANNES, May 16 — The legendary Cannes Film Festival kicks off today. The mystique surrounding the event in the south of France is as much about the social scene as it is about the film projections. With eleven nights entirely dedicated to partying, celebrities and charity events, everyone wants to know where VIPs like Rihanna, Eva Longoria, ...

Country, soul singers battle in all-female ‘American Idol’ finale

Thu, 16 May 2013 03:10:42 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 16 — Soul singer Candice Glover vied with country crooner Kree Harrison yesterday in an all-female finale of “American Idol” to become the first woman to win the TV singing competition since 2007. In a finale that judge Randy Jackson described as “so close,” Glover, the 23-year-old former travel agent from St. Helena, South ...

Dr Dre, Iovine give RM210m to USC academic programme

Thu, 16 May 2013 02:08:39 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 16 — Rapper Dr Dre and music mogul Jimmy Iovine have donated US$70 million (RM210 million) to establish an entrepreneurial undergraduate programme at the University of Southern California, the Los Angeles school said yesterday. The gift will create a new degree pulling faculty members from the university’s business, fine arts, ...

Conductor Gilbert fights ‘Bolero effect’ - in a car factory

Thu, 16 May 2013 02:03:35 GMT

DRESDEN, May 16 — A concert in a car factory using parts of a luxury sedan as percussion instruments is one thing, but a Volkswagen suspended above the New York Philharmonic creates another level of musical drama entirely. The NYPO under its first native New York music director, Alan Gilbert, showed during two concerts this week at the Dresden ...

Sarah Connolly wins UK classical music’s top live singing award

Thu, 16 May 2013 01:43:08 GMT

LONDON, May 16 — Mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly and Scottish pianist Steven Osborne took two of the top awards for live British classical music on Tuesday at the Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) Music Awards. Connolly, who won the “Silver Lyre” for best solo singer, showed “exceptional musicianship and consistency over an increasingly wide range of ...

Christina Aguilera in talks to return to ‘The Voice’

Thu, 16 May 2013 01:33:53 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 16 — Pop singer Christina Aguilera is in discussions to return as a judge on NBC television singing competition “The Voice” next season, sources with knowledge of the talks said yesterday. Aguilera, 32, went on hiatus from the programme this season to promote her latest album, “Lotus,” with a concert tour. The singer had been a ...

Jolie caps journey from wild child to doting mother

Thu, 16 May 2013 01:18:40 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 16 — As a tattooed wild child wearing her husband’s blood in a locket and luring Brad Pitt away from Hollywood rival Jennifer Aniston, Angelina Jolie was dream fodder for the tabloid press. But her transformation into a humanitarian campaigner and now poster girl for the fight against breast cancer with her revelation that, faced ...

O.J. Simpson testifies in bid for new robbery trial

Thu, 16 May 2013 01:08:16 GMT

LAS VEGAS, May 16 — O.J. Simpson, the former football star famously acquitted of murder in 1995, offered sometimes emotional testimony in a packed Las Vegas courtroom yesterday as he sought a new trial in the robbery case that sent him to prison five years ago. Simpson, brought to court from a Nevada prison, testified on the third day of a ...

PBS says rapper Diddy will not appear on ‘Downton Abbey’

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:50:10 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 16 — Music mogul and rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs will not be appearing in British period TV drama “Downtown Abbey,” US broadcaster PBS said yesterday, despite tweets saying he would be joining the hit show’s upcoming season. Diddy set social media abuzz yesterday after posts on his verified Twitter account said, “MY BIG NEWS: So ...

Beyonce to hold Belgium concert after cancelling show

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:36:19 GMT

BRUSSELS, May 16 — Pop diva Beyonce promised her fans a great concert this evening in Antwerp saying she was feeling “much better” after cancelling a show in the Belgian city the previous day due to exhaustion and dehydration. “I’ve never postponed a show in my life. It was very hard for me,” the 31-year-old singer said in a handwritten note to ...

Pouring rain, chilly critics dampen Cannes opening

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:19:08 GMT

CANNES, May 16 — “Great Gatsby” star Leonardo DiCaprio yesterday opened the 66th Cannes Film Festival ahead of the European premiere of Baz Luhrmann’s controversial 3-D epic which kicked off the world’s most prestigious film meet. Steven Spielberg, Nicole Kidman, Carey Mulligan and a troupe of 1920s “flapper” dancers were among those braving ...

Shakira will leave NBC’s ‘The Voice’ after season

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:02:37 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 16 — Pop singer Shakira will leave NBC’s television singing competition programme “The Voice” after only one season as a judge in order to spend more time with her family. The Colombian singer told entertainment news outlet “Access Hollywood” after Tuesday’s episode of “The Voice” that she wanted to spend more time with her ...

‘Great Gatsby’ stars dazzle despite damp Cannes opening

Wed, 15 May 2013 23:18:27 GMT

CANNES, May 16 — The Cannes film festival conjured up the “Roaring Twenties” yesterday with a glamorous opening night premiere of Baz Luhrmann’s “The Great Gatsby”, complete with dancers in flapper dresses on the red carpet and umbrellas to keep off the rain. Nicole Kidman, a member of the jury at the biggest cinema gathering of the year, wore an ...

A Minute With: Zachary Quinto on ‘Star Trek,’ Spock and coming out

Wed, 15 May 2013 14:14:37 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 15 — Actor Zachary Quinto has transitioned swiftly from a television villain into an unlikely action film star in J.J Abrams' rebooted "Star Trek" franchise, playing the series' most recognizable half-Vulcan, Spock. The 35-year-old actor, who gained fame as super-villain Sylar in sci-fi television series "Heroes," will reprise his ...

Cannes set to ditch austerity with ‘Great Gatsby’ launch

Wed, 15 May 2013 03:01:09 GMT

CANNES, France, May 15 — The Cannes film festival may get some of its swagger back today when it opens with Baz Luhrmann’s lavish 3D period drama “The Great Gatsby”, an opportunity to shed the caution of recent years overshadowed by broader economic gloom. Leonardo DiCaprio and his British co-star Carey Mulligan will walk the red carpet on the ...

Angelina Jolie has double mastectomy to elude cancer

Wed, 15 May 2013 01:43:23 GMT

NEW YORK, May 15 — Oscar-winning film star Angelina Jolie revealed yesterday that she underwent a double mastectomy after learning she had inherited a high risk of breast cancer and said she hoped her story would inspire other women fighting the life-threatening disease. Jolie, an actress who has long embodied Hollywood glamour and has in recent ...

O.J. Simpson resurfaces in court to seek new robbery trial

Tue, 14 May 2013 18:07:54 GMT

LAS VEGAS, May 14 — O.J. Simpson, the ex-football star famously acquitted of murder in 1995, appeared in court yesterday seeking a new trial in a Las Vegas armed robbery case that sent him to prison as witnesses testified to what they said were blunders by his lawyer. Simpson, 65, appeared older, grayer and heavier after five years behind bars as ...